Thursday, August 16, 2012

This is a great new video about folk artist Helen LaFrance, which appears on youtube.com. She is being interviewed in her "studio" in the Kentucky nursing home where she resides. Remember, she is 93 years of age and she is still doing what she enjoys with her God-given talent. As she puts it so neatly, "When I'm not eating or sleeping, I'm painting." ( p. 1, Helen LaFrance Folk Art Memories, by Kathy Moses, with Bruce Shelton, foreword by Lee Kogan). LaFrance is a national treasure.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Try clicking on the link (below the first image) to "Nashville Arts Magazine" and, once you're there, click on the image for the current issue on the right. You'll find my article on local wood turner Brenda Stein. She and I spent a good four hours together when I interviewed her for the magazine, and we really hit it off. I rarely spend that much time with the subject of an article, but Brenda is a very interesting and talented woman and we found we shared many connections and had a lot of fun! She even had me suit up in protective gear and try my hand at the lathe, which was more than a little intimidating, even dangerous, until I got into it and heard her cheer me on, above the buzz of the machine, "That's awesome! You've taken your power! See what I mean?" It WAS awesome.

DON'T MISS THE LAST WEEKEND OF THE TENNESSEE

Changing Gallery III

Helen LaFrance: Folk Art MemoriesJuly 1 to August 12, 2012

A collection of 29 paintings by self-taught artist Helen LaFrance opens on July 1 in the museum’s Changing Galleries. The exhibition, Helen LaFrance: Folk Art Memories, is a synthesis of her personal history, folk traditions and spiritual visions.

LaFrance is a renowned Southern folk artist who has been painting since she was five years old. Born in Graves County, Kentucky, her works reflect images from memories of rural farm-life. She received no formal art instruction and never attended high school. LaFrance practices a type of folk art called, “Memory Painting,” in which the artist records her autobiography in beautiful visual images.

For many years, LaFrance has painted memories of a lifestyle that is rapidly disappearing. Her paintings portray scenes of Southern farm images, such as farmers plowing in the field, church picnics, cotton fields, and river baptisms.

A biography of LaFrance is featured in a book with the same title as the exhibit, “Helen LaFrance: Folk Art Memories,” written by Kathy Moses with Bruce Shelton. Her paintings have been purchased by such celebrity collectors as Oprah Winfrey and Bryant Gumbel. Her work is also in the permanent collection of the Kentucky Folk Art Center and The Owensboro Museum of Fine Art.

Of her art, LaFrance says with modesty: “I just do what I do. I thought if I kept doing it, one day I’d do something worthwhile.”

The exhibition traces the prolific and profound journey of this noted Southern folk artist. There is no admission charge to visit the exhibit, which will be on view through August 12.